And Love Will be the Easy Part
by SummerLove16
Summary: She's an American woman struggling to make ends meet in an African orphanage that everyone said she was crazy to take on,anyways. He's an American peacekeeper, in desperate need of shelter from the night. In a country on the brink of civil war,where the rebels own the night, can they find safety in each other? And what about love? EdwardxBella.


**So…this is the beginnings of a story that's been buzzing around in my head for a while now. Please read and review. Let me know what you think, and how I should continue.**

…

_Dear Alice,_

_Things are good here. I don't know what you've heard on the news, but we're doing okay. The gardens are thriving, despite the season, and the outer wall is almost complete. The older boys love to help out with the construction, and I think Emmett is secretly happy to let them. He and Rosalie have become as close to me as family, and heaven knows I wouldn't be able to continue without her connections to the Red Cross. Riley is just beginning to walk. He's gotten so big since the last photos I sent you. I'll call on Saturday, if I get a chance while I'm at the market. _

_Love,_

_Isabella_

…..

The sun was setting, the bright blue of the afternoon heat bleeding into vibrant orange and reds, a smear of pastel colours across the horizon blending into the rich, dark blue of the night. There were thousands of stars visible overhead, none drowned out by the city lights. Bella considered this as she wound the chain around the iron gate, once, twice, three times, before padlocking it, turning to ensure that no light seeped from the building behind her. None did, of course. These children had all seen first-hand the consequences of not blowing out the candles.

When she left the states a year and a half ago, her parents had chalked it up to the travel bug. When she hadn't gotten on her flight home, Renee had soothed Charlie, telling him stories of how she found herself, on the back of a motorcycle travelling through South America, backpacking through Europe, and eventually, with Charlie.

But Bella hadn't found herself on the back of a motorcycle, or in the have-you-been-there cities of Europe, or even with a man. Bella had found herself in Africa.

She'd taken the money she'd been saving since the age of seven for college, and bought a piece of property ten miles away from the closest village—close enough that she would be able to get there for market day, but far enough to keep her safe.

So far, she had been lucky.

The buildings had been constructed thanks to the kindness of her neighbours, Emmett and Rosalie Cullen. They were the first Americans Bella had seen in months.

Emmett Cullen had been a carpenter with Engineers Without Borders, and Rosalie had been a temporary relief worker with the Red Cross. They had fallen in love and stayed behind, letting their organizations return to the States without them. Rosalie continued to work for the Red Cross, sending supplies Bella's way when there were extras.

Her family didn't understand it, but they were kind, sending her money instead of gifts for her birthday and Christmas.

When Bella had first arrived, she had been struck by the number of orphaned children left alone, begging for money of the street corners and stealing food. At the time, the area had been relatively peaceful—only a few disappeared in the night to be used as child soldiers. Bella's heart had gone out to these children, and as soon as the buildings Emmett had been constructing were finished, she took in her first children: Three month old Riley, and his older sister Janna.

Their father had died of AIDS, and their mother had died giving birth to Riley. Janna had been doing her best to care for Riley, but he had needed medication for a bronchial chest infection and pneumonia. Medication that he would have died without. Medication that only a Westerner could afford.

Bella had never cared for an infant, but she had taken them in, and she had done her best. Rosalie had been a Godsend then, trading off sleepless nights with Bella as she lay awake, listening to the baby cry, wondering if she had gotten in over her head.

She still did, some days.

And then, suddenly it seemed, the country was divided. Roadblocks, and rebel groups, moving through the night. Fear was contagious, and it had spread quickly. The ever-present threat of civil war looming over them. Children disappearing by the hundreds, schools and orphanages on high alert lest their children be taken too. Taken and turned into child soldiers.

Bella tucked the key for the padlock into her shirt, relishing the feeling of the cool metal against her skin. The coolness was not unwelcome, but it was the safety that it represented that made Bella breathe just a little easier.

Emmett was worried, she knew. He had shown up three weeks ago, all dimpled grin and feigned relaxation, offering to re-enforce the wrought iron fencing that ran the perimeter of the property—with an eight foot tall wall of bricks. Bella had agreed, but progress had been slow, and the wall remained half finished.

She opened the door to the dormitory quietly, counting the heads of the boys and making mental notes for the next day. Alec needed help with his multiplication tables, and Embry was having trouble with the 'th' sound when he read. Sam, the eldest of the boys at nine, had decided he didn't need to go to school anymore and that he wanted to be just like Emmett when he grew up. Bella had let it slide for now, but reminded herself to ask Emmett to have a chat with him.

The boys, six in total, slept peacefully, for the most part, with the exception Caius, who sometimes had nightmares. Bella flipped on the baby monitor in the room, tucking the other half into her back pocket.

The baby monitors had been Emmett's suggestion. He had grown up in a group home in Alabama.

Crossing the hallway, Bella opened the door to check on the girls. She gently took tiny, sleeping Riley out of Janna's arms, straightening the mosquito netting around the girl's bed. Leah had skinned her knee playing hopscotch this morning, and Angela needed help with silent letters. Jessica had been strangely silent as of late, and Bella made a note to take her aside and read a story with her when she had a spare moment tomorrow. Bella flipped on the other baby monitor and exited the room quietly, closing the door gently behind her.

Riley stirred only a very little as she placed him gently into the basket Emmett had put on rockers, a make-shift bassinet, pulling the mosquito netting close around him before getting into her own bed.

She was, as she was every night since she had arrived here, bone tired.

Back home, she had been Isabella Swan, her worth determined by the rickety red truck she'd driven, the boyfriends she'd had, the grades she'd achieved.

Here, she was simply Bella, because that was easier for the children to say, teacher, gardener, security guard and mother to seventeen children and one baby.

Praying silently for her safety, for the safety of the children, for the safety of her friends and loved ones, just Bella laid her head down on her pillow and let sleep wash over her.

….

**Well, there you have it! Next chapter will be introducing Edward. Yum. **

**Reviews are better than candy! (For me at least).**


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